Odd one out
by Mystic Fantasies
Summary: Pearl has always been the odd one out, living her life since she was a hatchling in an insufferable orphanage. She is taunted and teased because of her oddly colored scales. When Pearl decides she is sick of it, she retaliates, which ends up into an accident that will change her life forever.
1. Misery

Pearl sighed and glanced up at the sun. It beat down on her back, making the sand buried in her scales itch with displeasure. Grumbling, Pearl scooped up her basket of coconuts and trudged through the sand until she reached another palm tree. Setting the basket down, she flew up and grabbed hold of a few more coconuts, struggling to hold on to them while plucking more off. Pearl heard snickering down below and glanced down in time to see Olive and her two cronies tip over her basket and chuck the coconuts in random directions, while snagging some for themselves.

"Hey!" Pearl yelled, though she knew it was useless.

The trio of trouble makers shrieked with laughter and ran with Pearl's coconuts clutched in their arms. Tears welled up in Pearl's eyes, but she quickly brushed them away, and set down the coconuts she just gathered into her now empty basket. She then went around and scooped up any coconuts that had fallen out. The sun slowly slid down the sky.

"Ugh! I have to get back, or else Mistress will surely whip me." Pearl moaned. Olive always ruined things for her. Snatching Pearl's food and messing up her tasks. She always hated seeing her dark green scales and smug smile. Olive's two cronies, Jewel and Shell weren't much better. Though they picked on other girls in the orphanage, Pearl was their main target.

Pearl couldn't blame them though, she had always looked weird and out of place among the other SeaWings. Her scales were more of an IceWing blue, and her eyes were white enough that other dragons often mistook her as blind. Pearl strapped on a net over her basket of coconuts, so they wouldn't float away when she dove. She waded into the sea, relishing the feeling of the waves lapping over her. Pearl dove down, dragging the basket along with her. She loved the coral and all of the colorful fish darting in and out. Pearl smiled, and couldn't help but enjoy the exotic life that went on below the surface. Her smile quickly faded as she neared the building she dreaded. A sign flashed by as she swam through the gates. "Orphanage for young, female SeaWings" it read. The building itself was old and falling apart. Grime seeped through every crack and vines draped themselves across the many cracks, waving gently in the current. Pearl pushed through the front door, and swam into the kitchen, where Mistress was waiting, a scowl on her face like she always had. Mistress was the head of this hell-hole Pearl called home.

 _Your coconuts, Mistress._ Pearl flashed at her, using her glowing scales.

Mistress' frown only deepened. _That basket is practically empty, and the coconuts are dented and bruised._

Pearl wanted to tell Mistress that it was Olive who did that, but Mistress would never believe her and Olive would become angry and retaliate back in her crooked ways. Instead she only flashed back, _I'm sorry Mistress. I will do better next time._

 _You better._ Mistress then proceeded to pull out her whip, made of a rope of strong seaweed twisted together, and shark teeth embedded periodically throughout.

Pearl held out her arms. She had done wrong, again. Pearl had permanent marks on her arms from previous whippings. The shark teeth dug into her scales, followed by the sharp sting of the sea weed rope. Again, and again, and again. After four whips, Pearl's arms were slowly oozing blood, which drifted away in the water.

 _Now be gone with you!_ Mistress growled, whipping her tail back and forth.

Pearl was gone in a heartbeat. She swam to the sleeping chambers and sank onto her bed, arms aching. Her bed wasn't much. Just one of the 20 or so rock ledges that lined the sleeping chamber. Pearl attempted to make her bed comfy by lining it with seaweed, but the other girls often stole it, so after a while, she just gave up. She flopped down and clutched her necklace, a moon shell, painted a dark blue, on a string of small turquoise beads. It was her only possession. When Pearl was just an hour old hatchling, she was abandoned on the steps of the orphanage with this necklace. Nothing else. She could not remember anything before that.

The dinner bell chimed, loud and clear. It was designed to be heard in even the deepest parts of the ocean. Pearl hauled herself up and swam among the horde of hungry dragonets. Ages ranged from eggs to 10 years old. After 10 years, they were sold off to wealthy families to become butlers or maids. In other words, slaves. Pearl was 7. She had 3 more years in this insufferable place. Not that she was excited to become a slave somewhere else.

The dinner hall teemed with dragonets, flashing at each other and jostling around. Pearl joined the long line of orphans, and grabbed a tray. Old fish, moldy urchins, and over salted shrimp was piled in meager amounts on her tray. She slid into a deserted table and started eating. A lot of the newer dragonets still gagged on the horrible food, but Pearl was used to it by now. Pearl saw a flash of dark green out of the corner of her eye and groaned.

 _Hey loser._ Olive sneered. _I'm surprised that you actually found a friend._

Pearl glanced at her in confusion.

Olive's wicked grin only deepened. _Too bad it's only your imagination._

The dragonets close by who were watching burst out laughing, bubbles streaming from their mouths. Pearls face burned.

 _Oh did I make little Pearly cry?_ Olive giggled.

Olive's crony, Jewel piped in. _I thought blind dragons couldn't cry?_

That did it. Pearl stormed from the dining hall, everyone hooting with laughter. Her face burned in shame. She would never fit in.

Pearl wondered if her whole life would always be miserable. She decided that she was done with it.


	2. Escape

**Author's note: Sorry for the short chapters, I will definitely try to make this one longer. Also, I mention that Pearl has minnows in her stomach, which is an expression. It's the same thing as butterflies in your stomach, meaning your really nervous. Enjoy!**

Pearl's heart pounded in her chest. If her clambering through the water didn't wake the others, then her heart surely did. A patch of moonlight filtered through the grimy windows, leaving dark pools of shadows strewn about the old, musty floor. Pearl made sure to stick to the shadows, which wasn't hard in this gloomy pile of junk. Creeping along, She expertly darted from shadow to shadow.

Pearl was a skilled shadow bounder, as she called herself. She learned that if she wasn't noticed, then no one would tease her. Thank goodness for the gloominess of the building that got her through so many crowded hallways, dinner, and now this. She had to give credit to Olive, because she was the reason why Pearl taught herself to shadow bound in the first place. For once, Pearl needed her skills for a more desperate reason. A more life threatening reason. Well, not that desperate, but it could come to it.

Pearl paused to take a deep breath, minnows in her belly. She darted to the next pool of shadows, and took another deep breath. _I'm gonna make it. You're gonna be ok._ Pearl lectured herself, then froze in fear. She could feel the slight movement of the water that indicated wing beats, and a tail propelling a dragon on. _No no no no no, oh plz no._ She was so close! Pearl could not get discovered after being a few bounds to the doorway, to freedom. She flattened herself on the creaky, waterproof floorboards, flinching as it let out a small groan. The water movements grew stronger.

A dark blue SeaWing rounded the corner, her eyes were closed and mass of bubbles left her mouth with every breath, indicating she was snoring. Pearl let out a breath of relief. The dragon was sleep swimming. However, nervousness set in once again when she recognized Shell swimming clumsily through the water. Shell was on of two of Olive's cronies, the other being Jewel. She wished she could just wack her tail into their faces, but she never dared because of the consequences that would soon follow. Just thinking about Mistress' whip sent shivers down her wings.

Pearl waited for Shell to finish scrambling by, then continued on her way, darting from one puddle of gloom to the next. Finally, _finally_ Pearl reached the door. She swung it open and cringed at the loud _squeeeeeeeak_ it emitted. One second passed, then two. After 10 seconds, Pearl darted outside and eased the door back closed, letting out another loud screech. Another deep breath somewhat calmed her racing heart. Suddenly, Pearl saw scales illuminate, on the upper floor. Mistress' room. Then they slowly faded away, probably swimming to check on the sleeping chambers. Pearl groaned. She had forgot that Mistress did nightly checks. Out of the 5 sleeping chambers, Pearl's bed was in the third one, meaning she had some time before Mistress discovered her empty bed. Pearl also realized that she forgot to snatch some food from the kitchens. Though she knew how to hunt, she was never any good at it, and it would be safer to stash a pack. But Mistress was awake...

Pearl shook away her fears and swam as fast as she could to the kitchen windows. She found an unlocked one, but it wouldn't budge. Pearl heaved, and pushed, whipping her tail back and forth. With a groan, it gave way and Pearl tumbled inside. She paused for a second, feeling the water for approaching wing beats. When no movements occurred, Pearl grabbed a knapsack and flung herself around the kitchen, stuffing it with things she might need. Fish, squid, shark, and a knife, _just in case_ she told herself, was stuffed into her bag. She tied it across her back and squeezed back through the window. She made her way back to the front of the orphanage.

Pearl paused. Where would she go? She had no clue where she was, no clue where she wanted to go. She just wanted out. Escape wasn't as great as she thought it would be. Pearl pondered if she should just wait to become ten years old and then escape from whatever wealthy house she would serve in as a slave. _No!_ She told herself firmly. _I am doing this! It's too late to turn back now!_ Pearl decided to start at the small island where she harvested coconuts and crabs and such over the years. _I'm just lucky Mistress hasn't discovered I'm gone yet._

As if her thoughts summoned her, Mistress stormed out of the door, a roar blasting from her mouth. Well, it was really bubbles, but Pearl got the point that it was time to go, but she paused. Behind her filed out five bloodhound sharks (tracking sharks), and five burly SeaWings with swords strapped across their backs. They each had a shark on a leash.

Mistress must have seen the confusion on Pearl's face at the sight because she flashed at her, _My personal guards and trackers. They're for emergencies. Now why don't you come back inside and go to bed, and nothing will happen to you._ Mistress gave her a charming smile. Pearl knew that smile could turn deadly in a split second. She shook her head.

Pearl darted off, heading for the ocean. The sharks lunged at their leashes, and the guards followed close behind. Gasping for water, She bolted on. With her small body, Pearl was able to nimbly dive between coral. The sharks could as well, but their handlers weren't as fast, and the leashes got caught up on branches and rocks, slowing them down. After awhile, only on guard trailed after her, then stopped altogether. Pearl glanced back in confusion, put sped on.

The seafloor rose slightly, until Pearl could touch the bottom with her head above water. She had reached the island. Pearl hauled herself up onto the island, shaking the water off. To make it harder to track her, she lifted off the sand so as to not leave footprints. Pearl headed towards a small copse of trees. Dodging trunks, she landed by a small outcropping of rocks draped in vines. Pushing aside a palm frond, she sighed in relief as she saw her secret cave was still there.

Pearl had discovered this small little cave when she was around 3 years old. It was just big enough for a large dragon to curl up in. Pearl was very thankful for it when she had to hide her findings from Olive, or escape from Olive as well. She stalked in, and set her bag on the floor. Pausing for a second, Pearl turned back to her bag and took out the knife she snatched at the kitchens. Setting the knife down at an easily accessible spot, she curled up in the back of the cave. Exhaustion dragged her down into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Wing beats and gruff murmuring pulled Pearl back into reality. She opened her eyes and yawned, smacking her lips. Her peaceful expression soon turned to fear as the nights events snapped back to her. It was still night time, but a faint tinge of sun brightened the horizon.

"Are you sure?" one voice whispered.

"Yes I'm positive!" Another voice responded. "I've been tracking her in secret, and I saw her go in! Go check for yourself. Besides, Mistress will be here soon."

The sound of steps on sand filtered through the palm frond. Panicking, Pearl slung on her pack and grasped the knife in her talons. The palm frond was abruptly thrown aside revealing a guard with a curious face. The curiosity soon turned into happiness. "I found her!" the guard yelled. "Mistress will be so pleased with m-"

The guards words were cut off as Pearl bolted out of the den. Flapping with all her might, she cleared the trees. "Oof!" Pearl grunted as she hit a large, solid object, falling onto her back.

"Where do you think you're going Pearly?" The dragon cackled.

Pearl slashed out blindly, gasping as it connected with the large dragon, sending blood spraying onto her. The dragon toppled over as the life drained out of them. Only when the dragon collapsed into a pool of moonlight did Pearl's heart nearly stop as she recognized who it was.

Mistress lay dead at her feet.


	3. Trial

**Author's note: Sorry it took so long to post this, I'm back in school after a week of Thanksgiving break, so updates will become irregular. I used the Summer Palace, deal with it. The best part, a chapter with 4,000 words! Woohoo! Enjoy ;)**

Time seemed to freeze as Pearl stood, the knife dripping blood onto the sand, and Mistress' eyes staring blankly up into the night. Pearl's breaths came out in gasps as the realization hit her like a whip in the face.

Mistress. Mistress was… was gone. Dead. Would never be able to whip her, or send her on useless tasks.

 _That's… that's a good thing r-right?_ She thought to herself. _No! You.. you're a murderer! You killed someone! YOU KILLED A DRAGON!_ Pearl hated herself for that fact, but part of her was relieved and happy.

Shouting snapped Pearl back to reality. Guards came crashing through the bushes, yelling and making a racket, but would go deadly silent as they cleared the trees. Rage soon turning to astonished faces as they took in Pearl, the bloody knife still clutched in her hand, and the body. Of Mistress.

Pearl dropped the knife, and stumbled backwards, only to run into a guard who pinned her onto the ground. Gasps resounded around the clearing as a few more guards stumbled from the undergrowth that laced between the trees.

"Go! Someone go get the royal guards!" A voice shouted. It seemed as if it was miles away.

Pearl's vision spun at the sight of the body, the knife, the blood that seeped into the perfect, beige sand. Wingbeats shook the air as a dragon took off. Going where, didn't matter to Pearl. The sheer horror of the situation that she had gotten herself in, overwhelmed her. Her dinner made it's way up her throat, choking her. With a gag, it all came spilling out. Dragons shrieked and fluttered away, including the one pinning her down. With no claws holding her down, she heaved and heaved, until nothing was left inside her, then she collapsed into the blood stained sand, her head lolling in her dinner that splattered everywhere.

Pearl didn't care. Nothing mattered. They could be-head her for all that mattered, and she would be fine with it. She lay there for what seemed like eternity, ears ringing and stomach hurling. More wing beats. Talking. A headache cleaved her skull, the pain intensifying with each word that was spoken by the other dragons. She groaned and rolled onto her back, wings splayed out on the filthy ground.

Pearl felt herself being hoisted up, dragons gagging at the stench of death and her dinner. Each step the dragons carrying her took felt like a bolt of lightning seared her head. The splitting headache grew worse. After everlasting pain, she felt water on her talons, seeping its way up her scales as she sank into the sea. It was instant relief. The blood, sand, and puke slowly drifted away, along with most of her headache, leaving a dull pounding. For the first time, Pearl came to her senses and saw two royal SeaWing guards, grasping her by the wings. She could distinguish them by the Jade arm bands around each leg. Pearl felt useless being dragged through the water and willed her legs kick, her tail to swing side to side in the fluid motion of swimming. But she couldn't bring herself to. Instead, she just dangled uselessly between the two guards as they heaved her through the water. Pearl also noticed 3 royal guards in front of her, 3 in the back, and Mistress' personal ones tagging along farther behind. The trip went by in a blur. Pearl slid in and out of consciousness, still recovering from the shock. Waking up from another bout of darkness, Pearl glanced around.

The summer palace emerged from the gloom, beautiful and stunning, even from the outside. They entourage swam through a long tunnel, and Pearl couldn't restrain her gasp. The sheer beauty overwhelmed her. Everything was perfect, no grime, no squeaky doors, though there was still damage from the raid during the war. Dragons darted to and fro, fixing this and that, going wherever duty called them. Repair was still in full swing of this stunning palace, this art. It was a spectacular piece of art.

Pearl never knew something so beautiful could exist. She was quickly tugged away, and was reminded of why she was here. Guilt set in again, a stone sinking down in her belly and pulling her ever into the dark depths of depression. She tried to sob, tried to release her remorse, but nothing was left inside her. Pearl felt as if her insides has shriveled up, and her scales would soon follow. She was lifted out of the water, guards grunting. Two other guards rushed over to help. By now, prying eyes had spotted her, wondering why a downcast SeaWing was being hauled up and into the tunnel for the prison.

The sun disappeared. Pearl had never felt so helpless as her feet dragged along the ground, her scraping talons calling attention to herself. She was thrown forcefully into a barred cell, and the door clicked shut and locked. Pearl couldn't muster the energy to move, so she just lay there, sprawled out on the floor, the other prisoners' stares bore into her.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" A SandWing in the next cell over scoffed. He was a burnt orange with a dark tan underbelly. He also had a black line running down the length of his belly, starting at his nose, meaning he had a black line across his face. His poisonous tail was in a metal box so he didn't stab anyone. He also had clamps on his wings. In fact all of the prisoners had clamps. Pearl glanced back at her wings. She didn't notice or even remember having clamps be put onto them. It felt awkward, unnatural.

A NightWing snorted. "Is it cause your scales are... freaky?" Laughter followed. The nightwing consisted of black and a gray underbelly, with a tinge of purple on his wings.

"Hey!" a RainWing retorted. "It's not her fault! Besides, she's so young!"

"I'm 7." Pearl mumbled.

Murmuring followed, drifting from prison cell to prison cell.

"You're small for an adult." the NightWing pointed out.

"Adult?" Pearl glanced at him in confusion the best as she could from her position on the floor. "I'm- I'm still an adolescent."

"Well you're full grown and have the rights of an adult." the SandWing piped in. He was lounging on the floor without a care to the world.

Pearl looked over at the NightWing. He was staring intently at her back. "You gonna eat that?" Thoughts of being an adult slipped from her mind.

"Eat what." she answered boredly.

"The stuff in your pack." the SandWing replied, sitting up now.

The prospect of eating made Pearl gag, so she swung off her pack and tossed chunks of food to different prisoners.

"Blech. Fish." a SkyWing down the rows grumbled.

"Thanks." the SandWing said. Pearl glimpsed at him, and she saw that he actually meant it.

The NightWing let out a sigh of contentment as he chewed. Pearl had never seen anyone enjoy the orphanage's food before. She wondered what they fed the prisoners here. It certainly couldn't be as bad as the orphanage. But by the way the prisoners were relishing it…

"Is prison food really that bad?" Pearl asked, her head slumping back down.

"Oh, gosh no." the Rainwing retorted, licking her lips. "This food is downright terrible."

A MudWing further down swallowed the fish Pearl gave him and added "With the construction going on, they often forget to feed us, so we take any food available."

"We feed you everyday", a gruff voice sounded. A guard. "You MudWings just eat 10 times more food than any other tribe. And by the way, who gave you this food?"

"I did." Pearl mumbled.

The guard whipped her gaze towards Pearl who was still spread out on the floor where the first guard dumped her. "Your bag! She exclaimed, taking out a ring of keys hidden under her wing. The guard unlocked the cage and stormed in, snatching up her bag. Then, she went out and emptied the bag. The contents skidded across the ground, and prisoners snatched up the food eagerly.

"Ooh!" she asserted and picked up the lobster. "My favorite." However, when the guard took a bite out of it she gagged and immediately spit it back out.

"I'll take it! A SeaWing farther down called out.

The guard shrugged and tossed the remaining food to random prisoners who scrabbled to grab it, clawing each other through the bars. Hisses and roars echoed through the prison.

Pearl found herself actually starting to enjoy the presence of the other prisoners. She supposed they weren't that bad. Pearl dragged herself into a sitting position, surprised that she could muster the energy to. After some time, the prisoners started calming down, after all of the food was gone. Some ferocious roars still rang out down near the entrance, arguing about how one of them took all of the food for themselves.

"All of the troublemakers are kept down there. The dragons who cause the most ruckus." The SandWing in the next cell over grunted. "Easiest to get to."

Sure enough, she saw a flash frost breath, followed by a red glare. Fire, she assumed. This continued back and forth until some guards stepped in the way, being careful not to get caught up in the deadly breath from both sides. The guards darted both of the dragons, making them fall into a deep sleep, their snores echoing off the walls.

"Hey, now that you're sitting up, let's share names and why we ended up here!" the RainWing cheerfully peeped. "I'll go first. So, my name is Ceiba and-"

"What kind of name is ce- what now?" The NightWing snorted.

Ceiba huffed. "It's pronounced Say-ba, and it's a tree. ANYways, I ended up here because, well, I was carrying this huge batch of coconuts, and right over the palace, the basket slipped out of my talons, hit a dragon carrying and egg over the head. Of course the dragon fell, but he was fine, but um, the egg was just smithereens. And of COURSE the egg had to be the dragonet of a family very close to the queen, and they thought I did it on purpose, so now I'm here."

"Huh. Terrible coincidence." The NightWing sighed.

"Totally!"

"Well, I guess I'll go then." the NightWing sighed again. "I'm Deathblow."

"Whoa. Geez. Not expecting that." Ceiba shrank into the corner, her scales turning into a fearful color.

"Look, it's not what you think." Deathblow continued on. "Sure, I was hatched thrashing and growling, so of course my parents thought I was gonna be tough, hence my name. Anyways, that was just cause to be honest, I'm a scaredy cat, and I was scared of a wolf spider."

The SandWing covered his face with his talons to conceal his laughter.

"Hey! It's not funny! Wolf spiders are scary as just a newborn dragonet. So, I got here by flying inside, dared by my siblings who despised me. They said they would never tease me again if I flew down, punched the queen, and flew out unscathed. Of course I jumped at the chance, and managed to punch the queen, unfortunately around a ton of guards, and you can guess what happened after that."

"Ooh! My turn! I'm Caracal, it's a type of cat, and I ended up in here because I was sent on a mission, can't tell you because it's classified information. I was obviously caught and put into here." The SandWing, Caracal, glanced over at Pearl. "Now you."

"Um, I'm Pearl, and…" She took a deep breath, then let her whole life pour out. By the time she was done, she saw the others staring at her in awe.

"I think we can all agree Pearl has had the worst life." Ceiba said softly.

"SHUT UP ALL YOU BITCHES!" A roar sounded at the entrance. Heads turned to sea a very scarred and grumpy looking SeaWing standing at the doorway. He was such a dark blue he looked black from far away. His eyes glinted maliciously, darting from prisoner to prisoner. The guard thudded down the rows, eyeing each with as much venom as in a SandWing tail tip. "YOU! Are you Pearl?!" he growled. "The one who murdered Guppy the SeaWing?"

"What?" Pearl was genuinely confused. "Who's guppy?"

"I KNOW YOUR TRICKS, YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" the guard roared in her face. He opened the cell, stormed inside, and grabbed Pearl's tail.

"I can walk!" she retorted, but the guard ignored her. Pearl thrashed around and hisssed. The guard only tightened his grip as she was dragged helplessly along the ground. Her face grew hot with embarrassment.

Laughing echoed off of the walls. Pearl thrashed some more, but the guard swung her around and her head banged on the metal bar of a cell. She rubbed her head and stopped fighting. The guard chuckled. Down the hall she went, the sunlight blinding her. She groaned as the guard tugger her down a rough, rocky slope. Finally they entered a large room.

Pearl was surrounded by large walls on all sides, with an exception to the door she came through. At the top of the walls, a few rows of benches, and right in front of her was a massive throne. It was stunning, decorated with nautilus shells, pearls, jade, coral, and the chair itself was a deep aquamarine.

Dragons lined the rows, talking and milling about. They were mostly SeaWings, but Pearl saw the occasional MudWing, and even an IceWing brooding in the back. When Pearl entered, the talking was abruptly cut off, and all faces turned towards her, being dragged in the dirt floor. She hissed and shot menacing looks around the room. She hated being dragged around like some useless dragonet. Finally, the guard let her go, and Pearl angrily stood, brushing off the dirt and grime from her scales. Murmuring slowly started up again.

Huge pearl doors next to the throne banged open and once again the talking was silenced. The queen strode out in her stunning beauty, jewels draped from her. The light bounced off of each jewel hung around her neck or embedded on her scales, making it seem as if Queen Coral was glowing. Pearl couldn't help but stop and stare at the dazzling monarch.

"Alright, let's get this over with." The queen sighed.

A teal SeaWing cleared his throat. "You are Pearl, correct?" He peered down his snout at her with a bored look.

"Y-yes."

"Very well."

"Just get on with it, Tidal!" The queen huffed.

"Of course Your Majesty. Last night around midnight, Guppy the SeaWing was murdered and-"

"Excuse me!" Pearl interrupted. Glares were shot at her. "Sorry, but who's Guppy?"

Tidal frowned. "The dragon you murdered…"

"Oh, you mean Mistress?" The thoughts clicked and she burst out laughing. "Her name is GUPPY!?" She snorted.

"Yes…" Tidal replied. "Anyways, witnesses stated they walked into the clearing, saw Guppy dead, or Mistress as you call her, and a bloody knife in your talons. My question is, did you kill Guppy?"

Blood pounded in Pearl's ears. She gulped. "I- umm." Her breath started coming in gasps. "Y…. Ye… yes! Yes I killed her!" Pearl couldn't help the tears from streaming out and pouring onto the floor. "It was an accident! I just slashed out blindly because I was scared! I was trying to escape!" she sobbed.

Babbling buzzed through the rooms, dragons looking at each other in concern. After while, the talking petered out. Tidal's forehead was furrowed in concentration. "Why were you trying to escape?"

Pearl told him of her miserable life at the orphanage, and how she was going to be sold into slavery when she was 10, and adult.

Whispers once again darted among the dragons. Tidal told her "Dragons are adults age 7."

"So, so I'm an adult? I'm 7. I mean, the prisoners said I was an adult, but I'm not sure I really trust them. Just, wow. I'm small, aren't I?" Pearl was babbling now. She saw a few dragons nod their heads. So she was a small dragon then.

"If you are truly 7, then it is illegal for an unauthorized dragon to care for you. I have never heard of this… Guppy or orphanage before. Also, selling into slavery is illegal as well. Droplet, please organize a team to go to this orphanage and shut it down." A SeaWing nodded and strode off. Pearl recognized him. He was the original royal guard that took her here in the first place.

"Anyways, punishments. Ideas please?" Tidal glanced around at the other gathered dragons. Talking bursted out. Arguing sprang up. She heard a few _She's innocent!_ But they were quickly drowned out with _Off with her head!_

"Just throw her in prison!" Queen Coral interrupted, a frown etched on her face. "Keep her in there until she's learned her lesson."

"How long, Your Majesty." Tidal glanced up at her.

"I don't care. 10 years?"

"That's too short!" said many dragons.

Tidal ignored them. "That sounds reasonable, Your Majesty. Guards take her away."

Pearl's face drained of color. "10 years? 10 YEARS! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! PLEASE NO! STOP! PLEASE!" She burst into tears. Pearl wished she never would have tried to escape in the first place. She'd rather take her chances with Olive than be stuck in a tiny cage. Pearl thrashed her wings against the clamps and hated the sound of her chains dragging on the ground. She hissed.

The same annoying guard hauled her back towards her cell, once again gripping her tail.

"What happened?" no dragon in particular said.

"What's your punishment?"

"Are you gonna die?"

Pearl seethed and glared at the prisoners. The guard reached her cell and threw her back in. The door clanged shut. Tears threatened, but she held them back. Her eyes burned, her face was hot with shame, and her tail was throbbing from the grip of the guard.

"Are you alright?" Caracal asked softly. "You don't have to tell us what happened if you don't want to."

"Personally, I think you should tell us." Deathblow grumbled.

"Deathblow! Being in trial is a traumatic experience!" Ceiba hissed. "Don't feel pressured Pearl! Don't listen to him."

"You know, I can't tell who's worse." Caracal mused. "NightWings or IceWings."

Deathblow fumed, smoke pouring out of his nostrils. "Don't compare me to those ass holes you bitch!"

"STOP FIGHTING!" Pearl roared. Then more calmly,"I'll tell you what happened."

"10 years?!" Ceiba said when Pearl was finished.

Caracal frowned. "But you're so young…"

"Not my problem." Deathblow really got onto Pearl's nerves sometimes.

Caracal's face brightened suddenly, he was glancing at the doorway and smiling. "Over here!" he called out.

Two MudWings, a SkyWing, a SeaWing, and a SandWing/NightWing hybrid darted down the corridor to Caracal's stall.

"Thanks for coming!" Caracal beamed. "Can you also take the SeaWIng next to me? Oh and the RainWing over there, and… ok I guess the NightWing too."

"Shut up!" the SkyWing snapped, but she motioned with her tail for the other dragons to unlock them.

Pearl sighed in contempt and stretched out her wings when the clamps were off.

"Ok, listen up you three." One of the MudWings was looking at her, Ceiba, and Deathblow. He sighed. "If and of you step one foot out of line, you will be immediately turned in. Lucky for you, Caracal is high ranking, and we have to follow his orders. Do exactly as we do, and don't get caught. Ok! Move out!"

"That's a lot of pressure." Deathblow muttered.

The nine dragons darted outside, staying low to the ground and in the shadows. Pearl hadn't realized night had fallen. A guard rounded the corner, his eyes widening in shock. He was unconscious before he could utter a word, the hybrid crouching over him.

"Hurry up already!" the SeaWing hissed.

They took to the air, flapping madly. Pearl frowned. The new dragons and Caracal were silent as an owl, while Ceiba, Deathblow, and herself were creating huge sounds. The other MudWing glared at them.

"Sorry!" Pearl whispered. The summer palace disappeared behind them.

Open ocean stretched out before her. She panted and drifted behind the others, farther and farther. Pearl was not used to so much flying. Caracal stopped and waited for her to catch up.

"Hey, are you good? You could ride on my back." he offered.

"No." She panted. "I can make it."

Caracal shrugged, but stayed beside her. Pearl's heart pounded, and not just because of the flying. Her face grew hot and she looked away. Caracal also suddenly seemed self-conscious.

"Look! Land!" Pearl yelped in delight, breaking the awkward silence. "Is that the main land?"

"Ya."

Pearl couldn't contain her squeal. Around ten minutes later they landed under a grove of trees. Real trees, not palm trees. She beamed.

"Let's rest here for tonight." The SkyWing said, settling down. "We'll make base by tomorrow."

As the sun sank down the sky, Pearl felt like she would faint from so much exertion. During the day, she had flown into the Claws of the Clouds mountains in the Sky Kingdom. The new dragons were very unsociable. She had no idea what their names are.

"Here we are!" Caracal said cheerfully, as the group spiraled down to a large ledge on the mountain cliff. A few dragons were flying in and out. They landed, and Pearl collapsed, gulping air. However, the dragons had already started filing inside, and Pearl sighed and followed.

Once inside, the entrance was a massive dome with a glittering jewel chandelier, and windows carved into the rock. Tunnels led off into the mountain, going who knows where. The large group of dragons plodded down the center hallway, the largest, which ended in two grand, marble doors. A SkyWing sat on either side, and pushed them open.

The room Pearl entered resembled a throne room, but more earthy. Many windows covered vines draped over them let in sunlight that streamed down, lighting a path to a throne. The throne was made of polished white quartz, and had more vines and ferns twisting themselves amongst it. On it sat a large, crimson SkyWing.

"Ember." Caracal dipped his head. "I am sorry for my absence. I guess I was not secretive enough. I apologize."

The SkyWing on the throne, Ember apparently, dipped her head back. "Welcome back. Who are these dragons?" She shifted her gaze to Pearl, Ceiba, and Deathblow.

Deathblow told his story, then Ceiba, and finally it was Pearl's turn.

"You… you said your name was Pearl?" Ember looked at her. The atmosphere of the room changed in an instant, all of these new dragons looking at her with a hopeful expression. Ceiba and Deathblow, however, were very confused.

"Damn! Why didn't I realize it before? May I take her?" Caracal glanced at Ember, who nodded in return. "Come on Pearl! Follow me!"

"Where are we going? Where are you taking me?" Pearl scurried after him down some halls. Ceiba and Deathblow followed, having nothing else to do. They ended up in front of a closed door. Caracal opened it and ushered her inside. It was a spacious room, with many rugs and furs, and a very fluffy and padded bed. On the bed was a light blue, shriveled up SeaWing. It seemed as if she was hardly breathing.

Caracal walked over to the bed. "Hydra." he said softly. "Wake up. There is someone you should meet."

Hydra slowly raised her head. Pearl rushed over.

"It's Pearl! We have found Pearl!" Caracal whooped.

Hydra's face brightened. "Oh, after all this time! I can't believe it!"

Pearl had never seen anyone so happy to see her before. "I'm confused…"

"Oh Pearl." Hydra smiled. "My darling, I'm your mother."


End file.
